Greetings!! I hope all of you had a very happy holiday season and a good outlook for 2008. For me, the holidays were a time for reflection and to give thanks…this column has been in my mind for several years, and I’m thankful to Jay and Christene here at GantDaily for giving me a forum, and especially to you, the readers, who (hopefully) have enjoyed these columns so far. As always, I welcome any feedback, positive or negative, in my quest to improve the content of this column.
This week we’ll look ahead to the impending NFL playoffs, take a look back at the NHL Winter Classic, and review the Penguins over the past month.
As you probably heard (or hopefully saw), the NHL staged an outdoor game in Buffalo between the Penguins and Sabres. Some 71,000+ fans braved the wind, snow, and cold to attend the game in Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Penguins prevailed, 2-1, on the strength of goalie Ty Conklin and their amazing shootout prowess. The game got high TV ratings (by NHL standards, anyway) and the league seemed pleased with the game. I cannot speak for the ‘casual’ fan, but as a ‘die-hard’ fan I give the came about a C+, MAYBE a B-. Yes, it was cool to see all those people there, and the atmosphere was great, and the snow falling was a nice touch…until the 3rd period, when the snow was so heavy I couldn’t follow the puck on the TV. The numerous delays to fix the ice and clear the snow took all sense of flow away, and the skill level of the players was reduced greatly because the puck got hung up in snow so easily. It was a nice spectacle, and I’m glad the NHL tried it, but I wish they would emphasize their everyday games more – as I’ve said before, on clean ice the speed and skill these players display is truly breathtaking and doesn’t need any gimmicks to prop them up.
A few weeks ago the Penguins were struggling, sitting out of the playoff picture and facing 6-8 weeks without their primary goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury. Backup goalie Dany Sabourin was initially solid in goal this year but struggled after Fleury went down, causing the team to turn to journeyman Ty Conklin in net. For whatever reason, Conklin has been a revelation for the team. His rebound control has been impressive, his puck-handling skills are better than any Pens goalie in 10 years, and he has seemed mentally unflappable. The past 2 games he has given up a TOTAL of 1 goal to the Sabres, who boast an above-average offense. As a team, the Penguins have played extremely tight defense of late, and that above all has them on a 4-game winning streak and a record of 10-5 since Dec. 1. The team’s offense is still not firing on all cylinders – they rank 9th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference – but they are hanging in there. Once they get healthy and get the offense rolling, they could be primed for a run…if the goaltending holds up.
On to the NFL playoffs. The opening round features a couple of interesting battles and a couple that I don’t find quite as interesting. The worst of the bunch, in my opinion, is Giants vs. Buccaneers. Tampa Bay only managed a 9-7 record in what is clearly the worst division in football. They beat 2 winning teams all season: Tennessee, who we’ll get to in a minute, and the Redskins. They won the Redskins game despite being outgained 412-92. They went 5-1 in their division and 4-6 against everyone else. I just can’t see this team beating the Giants, who just went toe-to-toe with the undefeated Patriots, and who play in (arguably) the best division in football. I’ll take the Giants by 10.
The other ho-hum game on the slate is Tennessee at San Diego. Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher is a wonderful defensive strategist, and he needed all his skills to overcome his QB’s horrible play. Much-ballyhooed Vince Young managed to throw only 9 TDs and 17 INTs in 2007, a figure that won’t win any playoff games. They needed to beat Indy’s backups just to make the playoffs. The Chargers, on the other hand, come in on a 6-game winning streak, a recharged defense, and the best running back in football. Assuming coach Norv Turner just stays out of the way, this one should be easy for the Chargers…I like them by about 7 points.
On to the interesting games – Washington at Seattle. A month ago the Redskins were a nonfactor in the playoff picture, mourning the death of their star safety and with their top QB gone for the year. Then their hall-of-fame coach, Joe Gibbs, blew the end of a game vs. the Bills by calling consecutive timeouts, a 15-yard penalty that more or less cost Washington that game. Since then, they have gone 4-0, easily handling the Giants, Vikings, and Cowboys the last 3 weeks. Todd Collins, of all people, has somehow managed to pass for over 800 yards in that span. However, Seattle is EXTREMELY tough at home (7-1 this season) and has a pass defense that should stop Collins. Seahawks’ QB Matt Hasselbeck is the key to the team – if he has a good day, Seattle should prevail. Seattle played a cupcake schedule by NFL standards, but their homefield advantage and Hasselbeck’s play give them the edge. I’ll say Seattle by 4.
Last but of course not least, the Jaguars invade Heinz Field looking to pound the Steelers once again. Last month Jacksonville handed Pittsburgh their only home loss of the season, but more worrisome than the loss is the way the Jags pounded the ball at the Steelers’ defense. Jacksonville ran for 224 yards in that game, and the Jaguars outgained the Steelers 421-217. Pittsburgh comes in losers of 3 of their last 4, and with a lot of injuries. Still, I expect the Steelers to defend their home turf well and not go down without a fight. They’ll hold the Jags’ running game in check relative to the last meeting, and I anticipate Ben Roethlisberger will have a good day, but in the end I think Jacksonville is just the better team this season. Jags by 3.
Dave Glass live in Clearfield with his wife, Suzanne, and their six children. He can be reached at buggyracer@verizon.net